The present invention relates to xe2x80x9ctraction kitesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cpower kitesxe2x80x9d designed for sailing with different vehicles like skis, skates, surfboards, buggies.
These kites derive from xe2x80x9cacrobatic kitesxe2x80x9d with two lines that can be steered by pulling on one or the other line, they are simply bigger and more powerfull but steer the same way. Because of their long lines 100 feet long they are complex to use, cumbersome and dangerous because the kite is far away from the user and can have considerable radial accelerations. On the field the long lines, which can count up to four, can become very cumbersome when there are many users around and can tangle very badly.
Present kite has no lines therefore has a lot less radial acceleration than others what renders it clearly safer to use. It""s bridles are connected directly to a straight handle 30 inches long. Said handle steers the kite revolving on the same axis as the kite itself, a simpler and more natural steering movement but unefficient with long lines.
Power kites can have different structures:
1. With cells, like parachutes, double skin connected by walls and many row of bridles: they are the most common.
2. With pressure inflated tubes, without bridles: they are specifically designed to be used on water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,078 Legaignoux).
3. With fiberglass rods, single skin and many rows of bridles: their transverse rods renders them fragile.
4. With cells, without bridles: they are also designed to be used on water.
5. Present kite has a single skin and a long fiberglass rod on the leading edge as the only structure. It has bridles that are all connected to the leading edge. That kind of structure takes a half spoon like shape when it si inflated. Such a shape is easier to inflate and collapses less easily than others, which facilitates the handling. When it hits the ground it bends without breaking because of it""s flexibility.
Because of those particularities present kite allows beginners to sail in minutes instead of having to fly a small kite for hours before switching to a bigger one and trying to moove around without being catapulted because of the redial acceleration of the kite. It is easy to make and to repair and it""s power compare to others.
To sail with a kite one has to be able to steer it, to launch it and to land it easily from far away. That type of xe2x80x9cpower kitesxe2x80x9d derive from the xe2x80x9cacrobatic kitesxe2x80x9d and has two three or four lines about 100 feet long to steer it. When such a kite is flying it can moove at considerable radial speed developing an enormous instant power which can hurt it""s user. Moreover the lines can become very cumbersome when there is a lot of kites at the same spot and they can sometimes get tangled very badly.
Present kite avoids these problems by being closer to the user, but the steering mode used with long lines does not work as good when we take them off. I found a very efficient way to steer a kite whose lines were taken off that works with all xe2x80x9cpower kitesxe2x80x9d, but I also found a new kite structure more efficient than others for that kind of use: it inflates and deflates to will more easily, collapses less easily in whirlwind, is easier to handle an to make than others. It does not turn as well as others with long lines but works better than others with no lines.